Kevin

See also: Kévin

English

Etymology

Name of a seventh-century Irish saint, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “dear birth/person”). It first became popular outside Ireland in the mid-twentieth century.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kĕ'vĭn, IPA^(key): /ˈkɛvɪn/, enPR: kĕ'vən, IPA^(key): /ˈkɛvən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛvɪn, -ɛvən

Proper noun

Kevin (plural Kevins)

1. A male given name from Irish.
2. (British, derogatory, slang) A working-class male.

   Synonym: Kev

Quotations

• 1990, Ruth Rendell, Going Wrong, →ISBN, page 157:

  "Guy," he said. He said it slowly and with a certain puzzlement. He said it again, thoughtfully, as if it were a name of someone he had known long ago but couldn't quite place. "Guy. Yes - don't you find it difficult being called that? I mean, if Nora hadn't said, I'd have put you down as a Kevin, or a Barry. Yes, Barry would suit you."
  He looked like an innocent child, smiling, wide-eyed, his cheeks plump and rosy, defying the object of his insults to take offence.

• 1996, Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes, Harper Collins Publishers., →ISBN, page 203:

  They sit by the fire smoking and talking about names. Mam says she likes the names Kevin and Sean but Bridey says, Ah no, there's too many of them in Limerick. Jesus, Angela, if you stuck your head out of the door and called, Kevin or Sean, come in for your tea, you'd have half o' Limerick running to your door.

Related terms

• (pet form) Kev, Kevo, Kevinito, Kevvy, Kevy

Descendants

• → Breton: Kevin
• → Cebuano: Kevin
• → Danish: Kevin
• → Dutch: Kevin
• → Estonian: Kevin
• → French: Kevin, Kévin m
  • French: Kevine f
• → German: Kevin
• → Lithuanian: Kevinas
• → Norwegian: Kevin
• → Polish: Kewin
• → Portuguese: Kevin
• → Spanish: Kevin
• → Swedish: Kevin
• → Tagalog: Kevin

Translations

male given name

• Arabic: كِيفِن m (kīfin)
• Breton: Kevin
• Catalan: Kevin (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 奇雲 / 奇云 (kei⁴ wan⁴)

  Mandarin: 凱文 / 凯文 (zh) (Kǎiwén)

• Dutch: Kevin (nl)
• French: Kevin (fr), Kévin (fr)
• Georgian: კევინ (ḳevin)
• German: Kevin (de)
• Greek: Κέβιν (el) (Kévin), Κεβίνος (Kevínos)
• Hebrew: קווין
• Hindi: कैविन (kaivin)
• Irish: Caoimhín m
• Japanese: ケヴィン (Kevin), ケビン (Kebin)
• Korean: 케빈 (Kebin)
• Latin: Coemgenus m
• Portuguese: Kevin m
• Russian: Ке́вин (ru) m (Kévin)
• Spanish: Kevin (es)
• Thai: เควิน (kay-win)
• Ukrainian: Ке́він (uk) m (Kévin)
• Vietnamese: Kevin, Ke-vin

See also

• Sharon

 

Anagrams

• knive

Breton

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

References

• Alain Stéphan, Tous les Prénoms bretons, 1996, Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, →ISBN, page 63

Cebuano

Etymology

From English Kevin, from Irish Caoimhghin or Caoimhín, from Old Irish Cóemgen (literally “comely birth”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: Ke‧vin
• IPA^(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈki.bɪn̪]

Noun

Kevin

1. a male given name from English

Danish

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

Estonian

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

French

Alternative forms

• Kévin, Keven, Kevyn, Keveen

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ke.vin/

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name; masculine of Kevine

Usage notes

The name Kevin has come to be an undesirable name after its period of popularity in the 1990s. It has come to represent lower-class low-intellect uncouth boorish behaviour.

Coordinate terms

• Kevine (f)

 

Noun

Kevin m (plural Kevins)

1. (slang, France) A boorish lower-class person of low intellect

Synonyms

• beauf

 

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English Kevin. First popularised in the late 1970s after footballer Kevin Keegan, who played for Hamburger SV from 1977 to 1980.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vɪn/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Kevin m (proper noun, strong, genitive Kevins, plural Kevins)

1. a male given name

Usage notes

• In recent decades, Kevin has become rather stigmatised in German-speaking Europe as a name typical of the uneducated classes. To a lesser degree the same is also true of other English given names (an interesting contrast to the otherwise high prestige of the English language).

Derived terms

• Kevinismus

Norwegian

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Proper noun

Kevin

1. a male given name

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vĩ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vi.nɨ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.vi.nɨ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkɛ.bi.nɨ/ [ˈkɛ.βi.nɨ]

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

Derived terms

• Kevinho

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkebin/ [ˈke.β̞ĩn]
• Rhymes: -ebin
• Syllabification: Ke‧vin

Proper noun

Kevin m

1. a male given name from English, equivalent to English Kevin

Swedish

Etymology

Recently borrowed from English Kevin.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Kevin c (genitive Kevins)

1. a male given name

Anagrams

• Viken, viken